Saving the Christmas Spirit
by kisa-kara-chan
Summary: Oneshot for contest. Toshiro is given the mission to go rescue a certain spirit in Karakura Town. It turns out she's actually the Spirit of Christmas! Will Hitsugaya succeed in his mission? Or will Christmas be lost forever? rated for one kiss


**Well... this is a little oneshot I did for a Hitsugaya-themed winter contest judged by originality on DeviantArt.**

**Took me a while to actually think of this sort of oneshot. lol. It also features (not very important) 2 OC's of mine. If you want to read the (now that I look back at it, terrible) fanfiction involving the two OC's there's a link to my DeviantArt page on my author page. You'll probably find it there.**

**In any case, I hope you like it.**

**And please tell me what you guys think of it, it will really help me out with coming up with other similar stuff like this, but not necessarily for Christmas.**

**PLEASE R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Bleach (c) Tite Kubo  
Claimer: everything else (c) me**

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**Saving the Christmas Spirit**

"Almost Christmas time!" Matsumoto exclaimed cheerfully as she finished setting up Christmas decorations in the 10th Division Administrative Office.

Captain Toushiro Hitsugaya walked into the room, his hands folded into his sleeves.

"Matsumoto, have you started-" he broke off, speechless at the white, red, and green decorations added in the room.

"All done, Sir!" she replied happily, "Do you like it?"

He blinked, looking on his desk at the pile of unfinished, untouched paperwork. "Really?" he questioned accusingly at his lieutenant, "You finished all that paperwork already?"

Rangiku Matsumoto's face darkened a bit. "Um… no…" she replied quietly, "I-I meant that I finished putting up the Christmas decorations."

A vein popped on the short white-haired captain's forehead. The room's temperature seemed to drop 10 or go degrees.

"Matsumoto…" he growled.

"Awww… come on, Captain, it's almost Christmas!" she whined.

Suddenly, a black hell butterfly fluttered over and Toushiro held out his hand and it landed on his index finger.

"This is a message for 10th Division Captain Toushiro Hitsugaya," the recorded message in the butterfly declared. "You have orders directly from Captain-Commander Yamamoto to go to Karakura Town tomorrow to find and rescue a spirit called Yukiko Hanazono, who is being hunted by various Hollows who are after the pure white spirit. You are to depart tomorrow through the Senkai Gate at dawn. Lieutenant Matsumoto will be placed in charge of your division during your absence until your return. Good luck."

As the hell butterfly flew off, Matsumoto went to the window and looked outside.

"Ooh! It should start snowing soon!" she cheered. "I wonder whether it's snowing in Karakura Town or maybe it already has. Ooh! You should definitely go visit Ichigo and Rukia!"

"Rangiku, this is a mission, not some holiday," he snapped in retort.

She pouted. "But it's almost _Christmas_, Captain!" she argued, looking up at the clock, "Oh, why hasn't it snowed yet?! Captain, do something!"

"What do you want _me_ to do?!" he hissed, "Shouldn't your mythical spirit of Christmas do something about it? After all, stories say that _she's_ supposed to make it snow."

"Captain," she pouted, "can I just-"

"No, you may not call Rukia Kuchiki to ask her to make it snow!" he scowled automatically, as if he had predicted what she was going to say. He just knew her far too well.

Matsumoto gasped, "Captain, how did you know?!"

_It's not that hard to figure out,_ he answered mentally. Instead he said out loud, "Could you just please take good care of things here while I'm gone?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed, "You sound like it's as if I'm very irresponsible!"

Crossing his arms into his sleeves, he replied calmly, "That's because every time I come back from a mission, _you're_ usually drunk with Kira and Hisagi! Now… if you need any help, don't forget you can always go get Captain Kidamori of the 9th Division to help. Or ask Takashiro to help."

"Yeah, I know," she sighed, as if she'd heard this before, "but wait, Captain Kidamori is in Karakura Town, something about a two-day reiatsu renewal meditation thing. I forgot to tell you but she left yesterday. Hisagi's in charge of the 9th Division right now."

"Matsumoto…" he growled, "that was 'need-to-know-immediately' information!" Sighing in defeat, he said, "Fine. Get Takashiro or Momo to help you if you must. I'm leaving tomorrow morning."

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The next day, Toshiro left through a Senkai gate, arriving in Karakura Town. Looking around, he felt for any unusual reiatsus different from any he felt before. Detecting one, he dashed off, speeding towards the local shrine, where he looked up to find a white snowy spirit in a white kimono and a white robe over it, hiding her face as she sat on a tree branch.

"Hey," Toushiro called, folding his arms into his sleeves, "are you Yukiko Hanazono?"

"W-Who are you?" she chirped, her voice sounding a little surprised and scared. "W-What do you want with me?"

"I'm here from the Soul Society, sent by Captain-Commander Yamamoto to rescue you and escort you to the Seireitei," he explained. "My name is Toushiro Hitsugaya and I'm the Captain of the 10th Division of the 13 Division Court Squads."

Lowering her hood, she revealed changing dark red and green hair, a sharp-angular face, and soft cerulean eyes. Jumping down next to him, he could see that she had a rather attractive appearance, looking about in her late 20s.

"As you know, I'm Yukiko Hanazono, also more commonly known as the Spirit of Christmas," she introduced.

Toushiro blinked in surprise. "_You're_ the legendary Spirit of Christmas?! I thought that was just a kids story!" he retorted.

She chuckled. "Well… normally I'm not on the run like this. Because I've been having to hide and run, I haven't had the time to bring Christmas snow here and in the Soul Society. I take care of in these two places while by brothers and sisters take care of the rest of the world. I'm only one Christmas spirit."

_I wonder what Matsumoto would say to this?_ He thought, _Perhaps, knowing her, she'd freak out._

"So… you're a captain?" Yukiko questioned in amusement. "You look a little young, no offense."

A vein pulsed in his forehead. "I'm sorry if I do not look fearsome enough to defend you," he muttered incomprehensively and very sarcastically.

She chuckled, "What was that now?"

Toushiro shook his head. "Never mind," he said. "Come on, let's get going."

Suddenly, the bells of a hell butterfly could be heard and landed on Toshiro's hand.

"Captain Hitsugaya, emergency news," Matsumoto's voice chimed in worry and desperation. "All Senkai gates have been closed and are not able to be opened. There are suspicions that Aizen may be behind the dose. I'm afraid there is no way back to the Seireitei."

_Oh no… that's not a good sign,_ Toushiro thought. _We'll need to find some way out. Or else go to Kurosaki's place._

"Sir," Matsumoto continued through the recording, "the only other way back is if you find Captain Kidamori to open up a portal back to the Soul Society. Please be careful, Captain. Good luck."

As the butterfly flew away, Yukiko's cerulean eyes met his icy blue ones.

"Now what do we do? Who's Captain Kidamori?" she inquired.

"She's the 9th Division captain," he answered. "Knowing her, she should probably be-"

He cut himself off as he grabbed the Christmas spirit by the waist and launched them both up into the air as a large fist smashed into the ground where they were standing. Simultaneous roars filled the air as the two spirits landed back on the ground, Toushiro grabbing his Zanpaktou.

"Reign over the frosted heavens, Hyourinmaru!" he called, the sky above them swirling dark, the temperature dropping rapidly as a dragon made of ice and overflowing spirit particles were released from the captain's sword.

Dozens of large Hollows surrounded them.

"Dammit, where did all these Hollows come from all of a sudden?!" Toushiro growled as the ice dragon crashed into several nearby Hollows, destroying them.

Without warning, he sensed another presence nearing them, and looked up to see a cyclone of blazing red flames approach them, the flames suddenly surrounding them in a wall of fire. Toushiro shielded both him and Yukiko from the heat before it burst apart, another Shinigami standing in front of them with her Zanpaktou drawn. But all the Hollow were gone.

"Captain Kidamori!" Captain Hitsugaya exclaimed in surprise.

The black-haired girl smiled as she turned to look at them, cheer glittering in her chocolate brown eyes. "Hello, Captain Hitsugaya," she greeted, looking at Yukiko, "and you are?"

"My name is Yukiko Hanazono, I'm the Christmas Spirit for Karakura Town and the Soul Society," the spirit replied.

"Ah, it's nice to meet you," Kisa Kidamori replied.

"So how did you find us?" Toushiro inquired.

"I was made well aware of your situation," she answered, "as I was sent a Hell Butterfly not too long ago. So all I had to do was track your reiatsu down and find you. Now that that's settled, let's get going back to the Seireitei."

"Wait!" Yukiko exclaimed. "First I've got to bring Christmas snow to Karakura Town!"

Toushiro and Kisa exchanged brief glances.

"Okay, we'll be your guards," Hitsugaya said.

The Christmas Spirit began to levitate in the air before soaring up into the clouds, disappearing from their view, though the two Shinigami could still sense the spirit. Moments later, snow began to fall from the sky as Yukiko soared back down to touch ground.

"That's amazing," Kisa complimented, holding her hand out in front of the three before a swirling purple portal opened in front of them. "Now… let's bring Christmas to the Seireitei. I'd say, mission accomplished, Captain Hitsugaya."

As the trio walked through the portal, they appeared back in the Soul Society. Yukiko smiled at the two captains.

"Thank you for all your help," she said, "and Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too," they both replied simultaneously.

As the spirit began to make the snow fall, Captain Hitsugaya and Captain Kidamori went back to the 10th Division.

"How did your reiatsu-renewal meditation go?" he inquired her.

"It went well," she replied simply.

They slid open the door to the Administrative Office, only to find the room in chaos of what was a party. Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Renji Abarai, Hisagi Shuuhei, Kira Izuru, Momo Hinamori, Takashiro Kyori and of course the host Rangiku Matsumoto were there, drinking and talking.

"Oh… dear…" Kisa breathed quietly as Toushiro's anger rose drastically at the same time the room temperature dropped. "Now, now, Toushiro, Matsumoto's only trying to have a good time. After all, it's Christmas."

"Ah! Captain!" Hisagi exclaimed, hurrying over to bow to his superior but klutzily stumbled into her half-drunk.

She caught her subordinate, holding him up. "Oh dear. You've drunk yourself silly, haven't you, Hisagi?" she figured, resting a hand on his forehead, sending magic through to him to sober him up.

"Ah! Captain!" he exclaimed once more, suddenly now completely sober as he properly kneeled down in front of her. "I apologize. I didn't mean to take another after my first few cups."

"I blame Matsumoto," Captain Hitsugaya said immediately.

"Hey!" his drunk-ish subordinate stumbled. "I-I heard that… C-Captain!"

Takashiro Kyori stood up and walked over to Captain Kidamori without any problems. He threw his arms around her and hugged her.

"Welcome back, Captain Kidamori," he greeted affectionately. "Almost Merry Christmas."

She giggled, reaching up to kiss her boyfriend. "Almost Merry Christmas to you too," she replied.

Momo skipped over to Toushiro and tackle-hugged him. "Almost Merry Christmas, Shiro-chan!" she cheered.

He growled. "How many times do I have to tell you, don't call me 'Shiro-chan'!" he scolded in annoyance before his expression softened. "However, almost Merry Christmas to you too, Momo."

"_Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!_" Yukiko's voice chimed through the room as the spirit passed over the office.

In addition, in only Toushiro's mind, she said, _And thank _you, _Captain Hitsugaya. Merry Christmas!_

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